So I just got my depo projector headlights from jlevisw, and because it's such a new product i thought i'd share my full experience and make a DIY for all my fellow e90post members. I won't have time to install these for a few days (working all weekend) but i will certainly keep you updated with...

I'll post up some facts here in a few hours, but let's say the Tiwaneese were never very high on my list of "Trusted Manufacturers." They should stick with baby shoe and paper plate production to be honest. Best to keep it simple and not taint my beloved Bimmer.

Not sure why you say that, DEPO is actually a designated OE replacement manufacturer for many bodyshops. I think you'd be surprised at the amount of DEPO boxes sitting around high end body shops doing factory spec repair work.

OdomPHD, so I'm kind of wondering about the shape of the head lights you had received. You said don't buy DEPO. Is it so bad? Can you give us more info about your satisfaction? I assume you have the lights, you had mentioned about receiving date on Monday... Thanks.

Im jusst saying the fact that it makes me kinda mad when someone is saying something negative about my country.. thats all... and plus.. at least DEPO they do make some good quality things...
I just ordered a set of headlights from Jlevis... so lets hope its all goin well
and ahh.. I looked at the ebay link OdomPHD shared.. it said on there that those lights are from DEPO... just saying

Im jusst saying the fact that it makes me kinda mad when someone is saying something negative about my country.. thats all... and plus.. at least DEPO they do make some good quality things...
I just ordered a set of headlights from Jlevis... so lets hope its all goin well
and ahh.. I looked at the ebay link OdomPHD shared.. it said on there that those lights are from DEPO... just saying

I understand. We buy many things not knowing where they were made. Just bad experience, that's why we own BMW and not KIA's. Can you please post some pictures after you will receive those headlights? I don't really care where they are from, if they look and work great I'll buy them. But I had received some shitty stuff ftom China last time and when I cannot hold it in my hands before I buy it, I get very carefull. And at most cases you loose money to pay twice for shipping, even you get your money back for the product.

I understand. We buy many things not knowing where they were made. Just bad experience, that's why we own BMW and not KIA's. Can you please post some pictures after you will receive those headlights? I don't really care where they are from, if they look and work great I'll buy them. But I had received some shitty stuff ftom China last time and when I cannot hold it in my hands before I buy it, I get very carefull. And at most cases you loose money to pay twice for shipping, even you get your money back for the product.

Surely I will! Man those Kias...
There are some quality differences between "made in china" and "made in taiwan" tho lol
I feel what you saying man. I spent all day comparing those two headlights.. I just cant really trust ebay stuffs.. Doesnt really matter where they come from..
anyway.. Ill post up pics after I get the lights and have them installed onto car..
Cheers!

Surely I will! Man those Kias...
There are some quality differences between "made in china" and "made in taiwan" tho lol
I feel what you saying man. I spent all day comparing those two headlights.. I just cant really trust ebay stuffs.. Doesnt really matter where they come from..
anyway.. Ill post up pics after I get the lights and have them installed onto car..
Cheers!

Alright, I typed a long version full of expletives and funny, witty lines about eBay etcetc, but here is the non-offensive version:

First, I apologize for offending the Taiwanese national. I honestly don't know what your country's major export is, so the baby shoe/paper plate line was a joke. (Taiwan always > P.R.China)

Now then, I took a few pics with my iphone once the lights were installed but they didn't turn out. I started unpacking at 1pm on Tuesday afternoon. The packing quality was excellent, they literally walled the box with tri-cardboard pieces filled with foam and cut to fit the assembly to the Tee. (each headlight had it's own box within a larger box for stability). It all looked very, very nice. Holding it in my hand it felt real sturdy, I shook it to try and here a rattle and it was solid. At this point I thought I got a hell of a deal.

With both headlights in hand, I figured the install would take around 2 to 2.5 hours doing it solo until my friend got off work, then he said he'd help out (I'd never removed my bumper before. It was hard the first time 'round, but I could do it in 15 min now..) So I figured maybe 2 hours since I'd never done it before. But, being the "plan-ahead" kinda person, I set aside 4 hours just incase.

So, I grabbed a 6pack, got some tools, and got to work. I started my stop watch at 2:15 PM, and started on my bumper. Just like the OP in this DIY, the bumper removal went well. It took me a while to find some screws that were hiding, but I got them.

FINALLY GET THE LIGHTS GOING. I just put them in without leveling, simply to see if the AE's really were super bright or not and if the HID's ran ok. They lit up, and I almost fell down.

It was definitely the brightest AE's I'd ever seen. I tested them about 5pm, the sun was just starting to drop, so in ~75% daylight these things looked awesome!! I was amped, my two hour deadline obviously got scrapped, but they looked so good I couldn't begin to complain! (yet)

Reward Mid-Job--
6:00 Beer run. I had to drive a Camry to the store. I parked as far away from the entrance as possible. FML.
6:15 12 pack > 6 pack

6:30 Tighten all bolts/torx etc, replace bumper, COMPLETELY put car back together.
7:45 I take my car down the block, bring it back and point it at my garage to start leveling the HIDs.
7:46 Heart Attack. My AE's FELL INTO my assembly. My actual digital camera was dead, and my iphone lens is scratched to hell, so the pics I took with it don't even show the problem (won't bother posting). The AE's full ring was now a half moon, because the bottom half was below the black plastic INSIDE the assembly.
I popped the back off of the headlight to try and pick the set of AE's up and position them atop that black plastic rest I'd mentioned. To my surprise, they were completely LOOSE. With one finger I could move the set of AE's in the assembly... No freakin wonder they fell off their mount.. THEY AREN'T STABLE, they aren't anchored. I bet they fell out of place before I got all the way backed out of my drive way..

8:00 Pissed. Friend with M shows up, points at me, laughs, then leaves with half my beer. Decidedly, he is an asshole.

8:15 I am still trying to get the freakin headlights back on mount. It was just the right side, so maybe if I look at the left side assembly I can reverse engineer it's set-up ??
8:30 GOT IT. I got it back on mount after an hour or so, I decide they are worth keeping (they look that good. I always go name brand, but these were good looking enough to change my mind).

8:31 drive to my M friend's house to point out I am intellectually superior because my AE's are better then the AE's on his $65,000 Bimmer.
8:32 He laughs. My AE's had fallen out of place AGAIN before I made it the two miles to his house... He asks if I can pop the back off the assembly so he can move the AE's around and try to position them himself. Sure, says I, lemmee just pop this plastic piece here *SNAP*. wtf?? Back of assembly falls into engine compartment, it broke off of headlight. PISSED. Beer retrieved. DEPO 3 > PHD 0

8:40 No matter what I did, no matter what adjustment I changed, tightend, loosened, broke off or added, I could not get those things to sit still. I did make it a bit better (a better, more stationary fit, but still not to my satisfaction. I knew the first speed bump would push it off mount.) I didn't bother with leveling HID's. I removed the bumper, ripped these things out (this is my daily car. I had to have trustable functioning headlights for that night to get home, and the next day for work) and put Halogens in.

9:30 Done. 2 hour project?? yeah right. I have to either find a back to the assembly (very cheap back. decent build quality on the assembly, except for AE's, but the back was held on not with a metal clamp like our original BMW parts, but a plastic clip. again, cheap. ) or I have to try and get this guy to exchange them (IF he can tell me how to steady the AE's) and if not I'm gonna get a refund. This ruined both my night and my buz..no cool LED headlights for me.

And sorry no pics, I left the box at my friends house cause he said he'd ship them back for me. But anyone with a DEPO set should know what I'm talking about. If so, PLEASE tell me how to tighten the things up, they look too good to send back

If there are question or if I didn't cover something just gimmie a shout.

Not sure why you say that, DEPO is actually a designated OE replacement manufacturer for many bodyshops. I think you'd be surprised at the amount of DEPO boxes sitting around high end body shops doing factory spec repair work.

Sorry, Nick. I shouldn't of said don't buy DEPO, I know alot of people stock those items and that reflects your products negatively. A better way to word it would have been "If I can't fix this problem, don't buy DEPO," lol.

I forgot to add that there are three adjustments on the back of each assembly. 1 for high beam, one for whole AE set, and one to "tighten it up" so it won't shake/fall out. Well, they shook and fell out. Maybe it was just my set?? I'm still waiting on a reply from the ebay guy.. maybe if someone can post pics and show me how they got their's to stay in place??

oh, and my dash lit up with low beam error, light error, and service error (the car on a lift. Never seen it till now)

Sorry, Nick. I shouldn't of said don't buy DEPO, I know alot of people stock those items and that reflects your products negatively. A better way to word it would have been "If I can't fix this problem, don't buy DEPO," lol.

I forgot to add that there are three adjustments on the back of each assembly. 1 for high beam, one for whole AE set, and one to "tighten it up" so it won't shake/fall out. Well, they shook and fell out. Maybe it was just my set?? I'm still waiting on a reply from the ebay guy.. maybe if someone can post pics and show me how they got their's to stay in place??

oh, and my dash lit up with low beam error, light error, and service error (the car on a lift. Never seen it till now)

OdomPHD, First let me tell you how sorry I'm you had to go through this. And I feel bad that you were like guinney pig... So no good at all..... Back to the starting point. I hope you will get your money back, I don't think your headlights were the only bad one's. Too bad this stupid minor issue spoils it all. You said the lights look nice, the AE's are nice and bright, if they would stay on the mount the DEPO would make a killing. So I'm backing off from my plan to purchase a set. Anyway thank you very much for your feedback, you had saved many people from the trouble. Although there is slight possibility you received damaged unit by some stupid mistake or the guy on the e-bay is seling company rejects. Some people do anything for the money... Please keep us informed and good luck.

Well they seemed to be a decent build, but there was no way I could adjust the right side to sit still; keep in mind I could adjust the Left assembly with only a little wiggle (I'm not comfortable with it, but I could live with it. I just keep thinking of driving down the road and looking like a fool cause I have 3.5 AE's haha). Even with near max pressure on the screw (a screw with a blunt end fits a plastic piece on the back of the AE rings, this then pushes forward and keeps the AE's steady) it still would wiggle around. If Jlevi stocks DEPO I'm sure it is decent quality, and for some reason my unit was the broken one..

I'd even rig it with tape or something in the headlight if I knew it wouldn't melt. They really do look that good. Any tips on how to steady them would be awesome DEPO owners!! think I'll post a thread about that later tonight..

EDIT: If eBay guy agrees to send me another set, I'll exchange them and hopefully not see this problem again. BUT: I paid 50$ shipping to my house, so that's 50 back, then 50 to my house again. That's 50 short of a whole set from Jlevi lol.

Well they seemed to be a decent build, but there was no way I could adjust the right side to sit still; keep in mind I could adjust the Left assembly with only a little wiggle (I'm not comfortable with it, but I could live with it. I just keep thinking of driving down the road and looking like a fool cause I have 3.5 AE's haha). Even with near max pressure on the screw (a screw with a blunt end fits a plastic piece on the back of the AE rings, this then pushes forward and keeps the AE's steady) it still would wiggle around. If Jlevi stocks DEPO I'm sure it is decent quality, and for some reason my unit was the broken one..

I'd even rig it with tape or something in the headlight if I knew it wouldn't melt. They really do look that good. Any tips on how to steady them would be awesome DEPO owners!! think I'll post a thread about that later tonight..

EDIT: If eBay guy agrees to send me another set, I'll exchange them and hopefully not see this problem again. BUT: I paid 50$ shipping to my house, so that's 50 back, then 50 to my house again. That's 50 short of a whole set from Jlevi lol.

I guess that's the risk we're taking for not paying $1500 for BMW units. I'd like to see the picture, I can imagine how it looks, but if there would be quick fix like hi-temp silicone or something like that, wouldn't they do it already? Also error cancellers will be another $20. I think e-bay guy should cover the shipping for replacement, there was no fault on your side. Why should you pay for it? If you can take close pictures that would be great. Of course if Jlevi would have this version of AE's they'd be the best option based on their reputation. Please keep us updated, it is not over yet. Good luck.

Gonna take some pictures later tonight at my friend's place, I'll post them here tmw so everyone can see what I'm talking about.

eBay guy says that they shouldn't have any shake, and if mine do he will replace the set. Hopefully mine got bounced around in shipping or something, 'cause frankly they appear 9/10 on a "cool look" scale, and 600 bucks is a steal even with all this BS.

Gonna take some pictures later tonight at my friend's place, I'll post them here tmw so everyone can see what I'm talking about.

eBay guy says that they shouldn't have any shake, and if mine do he will replace the set. Hopefully mine got bounced around in shipping or something, 'cause frankly they appear 9/10 on a "cool look" scale, and 600 bucks is a steal even with all this BS.

That's a good news. I had checked the feedback of the e-bay seller and everybody is happy, lots of lights sold for different cars. Question is if this was some AE's alternation to make them nice and bright.... Can't wait to see the pictures. Thanks.

Gonna take some pictures later tonight at my friend's place, I'll post them here tmw so everyone can see what I'm talking about.

eBay guy says that they shouldn't have any shake, and if mine do he will replace the set. Hopefully mine got bounced around in shipping or something, 'cause frankly they appear 9/10 on a "cool look" scale, and 600 bucks is a steal even with all this BS.

Hi

So this set comes with all the harness and bulbs? The only missing things is the error cancelor correct?

So this set comes with all the harness and bulbs? The only missing things is the error cancelor correct?

Correct. It is 100% plug and play; the only work on your part is to screw the ballast into the engine compartment (all HID upgrades gotta do this) then plug the one wire into the headlight. I'm nearly certain JleviSW has the same set-up, but only with different AE (same assembly, though). I think it was Nick w/ Jlevi that told me a few weeks ago that they were upgrading their AEs to the super bright white ones. If Jlevi can confirm such upgrades, I'd advise holding off until they stock them. (I have no real reason to say they have greater service than eBay, but with the society on the BImmer post pages determining what they do and don't sell..if they have sub-par business their company would go under.)

EDIT: Misterba, I don't believe it was any alteration that caused my issue. The only thing I can see the eBay seller doing wrong was taking the AE's out to upgrade, then put them back in without turning the levers to tighten the AE's in place during shipping; that scenario might have brought on excessive shaking during shipping, but other than that I'm cluless

Correct. It is 100% plug and play; the only work on your part is to screw the ballast into the engine compartment (all HID upgrades gotta do this) then plug the one wire into the headlight. I'm nearly certain JleviSW has the same set-up, but only with different AE (same assembly, though). I think it was Nick w/ Jlevi that told me a few weeks ago that they were upgrading their AEs to the super bright white ones. If Jlevi can confirm such upgrades, I'd advise holding off until they stock them. (I have no real reason to say they have greater service than eBay, but with the society on the BImmer post pages determining what they do and don't sell..if they have sub-par business their company would go under.)

EDIT: Misterba, I don't believe it was any alteration that caused my issue. The only thing I can see the eBay seller doing wrong was taking the AE's out to upgrade, then put them back in without turning the levers to tighten the AE's in place during shipping; that scenario might have brought on excessive shaking during shipping, but other than that I'm cluless

Ok, that's possible. I'm soooo close to pull the trigger and buy it.... I just wait for your pictures. What makes me comfortable is your rating of the quality...9/10, which is kind of surprising. Then you might be right, you are the unlucky one of few to get the deffective product.... BTW did you buy error cancellers or you have no error on the dashboars?

Correct. It is 100% plug and play; the only work on your part is to screw the ballast into the engine compartment (all HID upgrades gotta do this) then plug the one wire into the headlight. I'm nearly certain JleviSW has the same set-up, but only with different AE (same assembly, though). I think it was Nick w/ Jlevi that told me a few weeks ago that they were upgrading their AEs to the super bright white ones. If Jlevi can confirm such upgrades, I'd advise holding off until they stock them. (I have no real reason to say they have greater service than eBay, but with the society on the BImmer post pages determining what they do and don't sell..if they have sub-par business their company would go under.)

EDIT: Misterba, I don't believe it was any alteration that caused my issue. The only thing I can see the eBay seller doing wrong was taking the AE's out to upgrade, then put them back in without turning the levers to tighten the AE's in place during shipping; that scenario might have brought on excessive shaking during shipping, but other than that I'm cluless

Hey there,

We did add the LED upgrade option to the angel eyes so those are now available.